Mozilla’s Browser ID Login System – One Username And Password is All You Have To Remember

There are dozens of websites which you use on a daily basis.

You have email accounts, social profiles, blogs, RSS reader, YouTube and so many different websites to use but the biggest problem with all these websites is that you have to remember a different username and password for each of them.

Sure, there are different ways to save usernames and passwords directly in the browser or use password manager applications for easing your routine job of typing the same usernames and passwords over and over again. But thing is, you have to create accounts with all these sites and have a unique login information, created only for you.

Mozilla is trying to address this problem with their new approach – Browser ID.

With Mozilla’s browser ID, you need not remember dozens of username and passwords for different sites. One browser ID authenticated email will take care of all site logins, if the host website support the browser ID login authentication system in the first place.

The short answer: Firefox wants to provide a dedicated sign in option directly in the address bar which can be used to sign into websites in a single click. No more typing long usernames and diffcult passwords, the browser lets you remember just one username and password combination for all the sites you use.

What Is Mozilla’s Browser ID - An Introduction

Here is how it works.

You create an account with browserid.org and choose a username and password for your browser ID account. Then you install the experimental Browser ID sign in add-on for Firefox and you are ready to take Mozilla’s newest authentication system for a spin.

The next time you visit a website that supports Mozilla’s Browser ID authentication system, you will see a login link at the left portion of Firefox address bar, as shown below

Clicking the sign in button and Firefox will prompt you whether you want to sign in to this website with your Browser ID account. Click the “Sign In” button and it’s done.

You will be immediately logged into the site without having to type any site specific username or passwords. Your locally saved Browser ID username and password will take care of the login and authentication system, which is a godsend for people like me who have more than 6 dozen online accounts, each having a different password.

Here is a 2 minute video demonstration which shows how Firefox browser ID helps you quickly sign in to websites, without having to type in usernames and passwords at all:

How To Implement Mozilla’s Browser ID Sign In Process On Your Website

The Mozilla team has put together a nice guide for implementing Browser ID login authentication on your website. Here is the short and concise version:

1. Add the following code before the </head> tag of your site’s template. This is the JavaScript library which will process the login procedure, once users hit the “Sign in” button in Firefox address bar

<script src=”https://browserid.org/include.js” type=”text/javascript”></script>

2. Use a simple IF else function to define successfull and failed actions, when users try to login to your website using the Browser ID login system

3. You must verify the assertion is authentic, and extract the user’s email address from it. The easiest way to do these is to use the free verification service provided by BrowserID.

Now you can go ahead and continue any post authentication steps you may want to. This is not mandatory and depends whether your websites really needs to verify the user’s email address completely (e.g shopping carts or ecommerce sites may want to implement this step).

When And Why You Should Use Mozilla Browser ID Login Authentication System

Without any doubt, the Internet is gearing towards speed.

People neither have time nor they have the energy to do recursive operations again and again, which is why there are millions of software applications being invented every year. Turns out, users need the answer as fast as possible and in least possible steps.

Implementing Mozilla’s browser ID login authentication system in your website might help you increase sales and conversions because users will have an easier way to login to your site without having to remember their account credentials. This will make your ecommerce site slightly more “sticky” as users would be able to quickly login and use your website within a few seconds.

Barring blogs that are geared towards content and publishing, this login system is ideally suited for online stores, ecommerce sites, sites that sell or endorse products. And the best thing is that you don’t have to maintain the software, manage any separate user database or take responsibilities for authentication.